
^KAH NOT! 



BUT 



Work, * Watch * and * Wait ! 



The Patrol, Geneva, 111. 



By JOHN WESTGARTH, 
Lily Lake, 111. 



r 



1 



WK^H NOT! 



BUT 



Work, * Watch * and * Wait ! 



By JOHN WESTGARTH, 
Lily Lake, 111. 



SyriyX 



The Patrol, Geneva, III. 



Copyright, 1892, by John Westgarth. 



WK^H NOT! 



BUT 



Work, * Watch * and * Wait ! 



The ship of ships rode proudly on the bosom 
of a buried planet, shielding from the elements its 
precious freight. All people worth the saving slept 
in virtue on a promise while ecstacy played before 
their veiled vision, and light-winged dreams ascend- 
ed to God in gracious number. But the teeming 
torrent ceased. Then the zephyrs played on the 
rippling deep, the hot wind swept the flood away, 
and he whose generations were perfect walked forth 
and built an altar unto his Maker. 

Heaven smiled and the hot rays warmed the 
moistened earth, when the vines swayed and the 
trees bent under their luscious fruits and the fields 
were laden abundantly. How joyous seemed the 
path of life when Faith, Hope and Charity, trem- 
bling not, came near to men. 

But Pride was born of Impudence and Devilish- 
Curiosity. Hell applauded, heaven grieved, and the 
great orb sank behind a heavy cloud. Then the 
star of empire quickly arose and for a space poised 
seemed, then ever westward bent its way. It shed 
a soft, alluring light that dimmed the stars, obscured 
the moon, nor heeded even the orb of day. Ap- 



FEAR NOT, BUT 



palled, allured, all that moved upon the earth be- 
came a mighty, wasting caravan — stalwart forms 
with bounding hearts and heavy arms to scale the 
seas and make the forests ring; gentle, lovely forms 
which heaven sent to cleanse their turbid souls and 
direct them to a haven fairer yet; a motley legion, 
quite susceptable; Brute Force, armed capapie, upon 
a fiery steed, richly caparisoned and with poison 
breathed disease perching on his withers; and Pride, 
borne by her worshipers, nourished with the choicest 
fruits and bedecked with laurels not her own — which 
strove intermittingly to anticipate this star's bright 
path. Eons of agony and pain on pain succeeded 
— each onward move a brief respite, each halting 
place the recipient of precious blood. 

But at length the star of empire poised and, 
dilating, grew, when all good men, turning, bent in 
quiet toil. 

Then Pride, budding, arose amid her decora- 
tions and cried: " Get thee gone, ye untutored 
poor! {sot to voce) the rest may reimburse manipu- 
lation. ,J She, menacing, stood statue-like, her cold 
eyes dwelling on a sea of upturned, horror-stricken 
faces — a mighty, rushing multitude trampling down 
its weakest ones in desperate quest of refuge, and 
halting not till crouched with all trained human 
power in the interval. 

Then as Brute Force casts a turning look upon 
his queen, a tinge of fear playing on his face mingles 
with the strain of inquiry. She draws her robes 
more closely yet, and shrieks: "And thou too! go 
follow in their wake! Go view thy visage in yon 
placid lake! what need have I of thee?" 

He fell upon the steed's high neck in momentary 



WORK, WATCH AND WAIT. 



stupor, then wrought with superhuman strength to 
stop the flying charger. On, on it went with crim- 
soned lips and nostrils wide, nor slackened its speed. 

"Curse thee! Take that! and that! Thinkest 
thou I'll ride against yon bronzed brows? Then 
thou knowest little even yet of me or my agility. 
I'll run thee through — but no, thou shalt writhe in 
a more dreadful, lasting agony. I tightly tie this 
rein about the pommel, and thou shalt perish stand- 
ing while hunger gnaws thy bowels and thy swollen 
tongue opes thy mouth even wider yet." 

Thus spake Brute Force, then caught upon a 
branch and lightly dropped to earth, continuing: 
u Ha! he has no rider now, he turns already. Well, 
let him go. Hell rage about yon haughty wench! 
Aye, curses, white hot, mingle with her very blood! 
Dreams she the blades of keen scorn cannot rankle 
in a breast so brutish? She reckons ill. Through 
all these centuries have I been blind to all but her, 
and studied her delight. And yon steed, steel 
hoofed and fleet, knew one sign, but one: When I 
leant upon his neck, he plowed the panic stricken 
ranks and, returning, brought me with the earnings 
of the toiling poor. But am I undone? Not yet. 
When justice sends her shining shaft I'll yield, nor 
even bend to avert the stroke. But hold: When I 
caught yon branch, for the first time in my career I 
looked aloft and saw or seemed to see a bright 
haven where seraphs clustered, and infant forms — 
the very ones I've dangled on my spear — knelt 
supplicating for my soul. Blind to all save unques- 
tioning devotion, can it be that I shall yet drift into 
obedience of heavens decrees and cleanse these 
deep dyed hands? Strange fancy. My brain reels. 



FEAR NOT, BUT 



But away, madness! base ingratitude transfigures all. 
I'll swift return and rend her heart from her nude 
breast and, laughing, watch it quiver. But hold! 
'Twould cease too soon, nor would her clay answer 
further mutilation, and my soul is now too deeply 
stirred for rapid execution. To compensate her 
base ingratitude, I know something of her subtlety. 
And, too, I know her fate. When she, dejected, pass- 
es down the great column to oblivion with a million 
shafts of keen scorn buried in her breast, I'll say: 
' Ha ha, proud queen, I scarcely recognize thee. 
What is it that fills thy breast? 'Tis surely not the 
laurels thy hands wrested from my brow? And 
where hast thy beauty flown? Get thee gone. Go 
view thy visage in yon placid lake; what need I of 
thee/ 

" Disease, arise and come with me, for I'll find 
thy mate and thy offspring shall be legion. Each 
den of vice shall have a pair to breed, and breathe 
on all who revel there while thou infectest the outer 
realm." So saying, he walked down the vale and, 
dismantled, crept amongst the crouching multitude. 

He had ridden scarce a league, when Pride har- 
rangued her slaves: " See ye yon fleeing form? 
Note well its speed, but chiefly note the example of 
swift obedience. What think ye of it?" 

" Capital! capital! henceforth thy name is Cap- 
ital!" arose from all her satellites. 

She, smiling, bows to their decree and com- 
mands: a Bring on the stuff already filched and 
build me here a throne, and along the ridges which, 
one from either hand, slow descend, build your 
habitations; then wait till I return." 

Having so spoken she walks, pensive, down the 



WORK, WATCH AND WAIT. 



slope and in the densest forest reclines upon a fallen 
tree, musing: " Brute Force served me long and 
well indeed. All I have even to my life I owe to 
him. But I suspect his future uselessness. Lately 
he has twice returned and, although fatigued and 
deeply wounded, brought no booty. The dogs 
lapped his blood and licked his wounds! Love, 
right, fidelity, gratitude, what are those terms to 
me? Even their quiet essence awakes rebellion in 
my soul. The earth is my ambition and on sub^ 
tlety in formal elegance I rest my hope! ,; 

Now her plan in all its scope is laid and, lithe, 
fairy-formed and fleet, she speeds o'er all the field, 
implanting in every breast a burning germ, then, 
returning, fans it into flame. She pauses, looks, 
complacent smiles. The work fulfils her calculation 
and to pursuit brings added resolution. She essays 
another step: Trusting, ruby-lipped and stalwart 
Enterprise is found, searching. She sees the majesty 
of his mein, and dwells upon the glory of his energy 
and strength. The die is cast, her form reviewed, 
her easy robes in taste arranged. She anticipates 
his course and, crossing, in careless joyance sings a 
lullaby and plucks a floret from a hanging branch. 
Hark! there are measured footsteps. She, startled, 
turns, then executes bewitching smiles and, fleeing, 
simulates all virtues under heaven. A dauntless 
spirit lends pursuit in rapid strides and a brawny 
arm arrests her course. Thrice importuned she, re- 
luctant, plights her troth. The two are one. They 
stroll along a flowery glen, the soft rays pierce but 
here and there while he, caressing, weaves sweet 
florets in her flowing hair. The unanswered echo 
of his heavy blade, his wierd and hollow loneliness 



8 FEAR NOT, BUT 

and the deep yearning of his unguided soul, un- 
checked memory in a moment brings and darkly 
draws across his pensive brow. Now he, bending, 
kisses his bride and tells her of the great vacuity 
she'll fill, of how gratefully that sweet lullaby will fall 
upon his soul when in weariness he seeks the hallow 
of their home, that their offspring shall adorn the 
w T orld and those florets yield to a garland of flowers, 
and of the field surveyed and the work begun for 
the suffering poor. 

But his full soul's wish poured forth too soon, 
A sharp cloud pierced the honeymoon. 

Now the gray dawn, streaming, beckons his 
wont and the great trees bow before his whistling 
blade while the rocks, quivering, crumble and pass 
away. " Soon will avenue lead to open field," he 
mused, "where abundance hangs pendant for hon- 
est toil." 

But his home's hallow hid in a lowering mist, 
Nor trembled love's solace the lips he had kissed. 
His fond hope, unnourished, withering, died, 
The black trunk remaining, a thorn in his side. 

But at length Capital departed from their hum- 
ble habitation, soliloquising: " He said he saw the 
sun's rays streaming through, this very morn, and 
the rich fruit, pendant, just beyond — fruition full 
enough of all for which I have endured this hateful 
incongruity. And this eve, feeling a weariness never 
felt before, he leant against a fallen tree while 
memory brought what ere it would. The yellow 
luster bathed a heavy cloud which hung about and 
above our home and deathlike stillness wrapped all 
things. Then a chorus of sweet sounds came to him 
calling him home, when, lifting his eyes, on the crest 
he saw radiant cherubs smiling, beckoning. He 



WORK, WATCH AND WAIT. g 

wildly ran to grasp them ere they fled, then apolo- 
getic of his abrupt and breathless entrance, told me 
of this silly vision. 

"Soft fool! 'tis well he early sought his couch. 
I had long since slain him as he slept but for his 
utility and a keener agony I had in store. The re- 
bellion of his love awakes the deepest hatred of my 
soul. The effulgence checked in yonder vale, I since 
have sifted from the ejaculations of his waking 
dreams. But the end of endurance hath a deadly 
sting. So when I saw him successively returning 
bent with premature agedness, hatred awoke my 
slumbering energy, and dark revenge whispered of 
its own fruition. I heard his tearful tale in erect and 
stony pulselessness, then coldly told him of the an- 
ticipated breaths he knew not of. 

"This avenue is smooth indeed — but I must 
hurry lest I meet those hateful poor who'd deal illy 
enough with me" 

AH finished is the work of her direction, and 
more, and the night's deep darkness yields to 
high carnival around her throne. All sigh for Capi- 
tal but, hope of her return being lost, greed and the 
lust of power provoke terrific throes till Vice and the 
usurious Jew are pitted in a race for the suppremacy. 
Vice runs leading but, unveiling all shamelesness, is 
banished by election. But hurrying down the vale 
he meets Capital breathlessly approaching, and falls 
upon his face in abject adoration. Then, rising to 
his bended knees, he asks her to become his queen. 
She assenting, they stroll along the verge of 
darkness, returning through its deepest shades. 
"Proud queen," he said, "I hail thee as my 
refuge. Long have I sought thee that I might 



TO FEAR NOT BUT 

safely ply my villiany. Nor bring I love nor flow- 
ers. Yet shall thy cold heart be ravished with 
delight. Thou shalt pose upon thy throne on court 
occasions, and, unmoved, lend ear to Rachel's lamen- 
tation. At leisure thou shalt traverse thy high 
avenues in many a glittering equipage, and thy 
haught finger aimed at budding love shall drive it 
o'er the brink. In darkness thou mayest safely 
walk my avenues and enter all my gilded dens for 
finished satisfaction. And scenes, ha, ha, shall greet 
thee. Let me portray a type: The shout of revel- 
ry bursts from a motley throng as a crimson hand 
exalts a beaker, full. Dark shame wraps the chan- 
delier while a fetid breath pours upon a seething 
mass of dizzy revelers. Vipers twine themselves 
amongst all nudeness while groans and moans slowly 
subside till silence reigns. Now Brute Force rises 
from amongst the seething mass and stalks about 
with iron heels and muttering heavy imprecations, 
when a door swings shrieking in from the dark pas- 
sage. Affection, penitent and rebellious is driven 
through, and the returning door turns a bolt unseen 
though heard. Nude figures, lacerated, wring their 
hands and, supplicating, rise, but each is only rudely 
lifted, whirled about and thrust into a niche. Then 
Law runs in what fleeing Legs has left. 

"And as thou art my refuge I am thine, for with- 
out me thou must surely perish quickly. Hence I 
shall require obedience. Nay, nay now! toss not thy 
head in rebellious incredulity. Dreamest thou to 
conquer me? Art thou secure under thy lineage 
and in thy elegance? and pittest thou thy superficial 
look, thy experience of a span? Well truly do I ad- 
mire thy impudence and sigh for leisure in which to 



WORK, WATCH AND WAIT. n 

dangle silly ventures! But the gray dawn hath 
already sent its premonition and, 'tis said, the ris- 
ing sun shall bring yon Jew his coronation. 

"Now mark thee well! In my broad breast there 
is no love, no mellowness but only a granite hardness 
which shall blunt all shafts thou mayest precipitate. 
My birth long antidates thy own, nor have I reclined, 
purblind, in lazy luxury, but with subtle wisdom 
have I plied my sleepless, lurking energy. 

" Yea, I have, groveling, wrestled fiercely with 
multitude, bending stiffer necks than thine and ren- 
ding a sanctity thou knowest not of. Yet, I touch 
not, taste not, but impel, and, exalting, court but 
passing instruments. Let me but lift a finger, and 
Brute Force, my omnipresent slave, may tear thy 
heart from thy nude breast and, laughing, watch it 
quiver. Love, devotion, pity, what are these terms 
to me? The earth is my ambition and on subtlety 
is formal elegance I rest my hope. Ha, ha, so thou 
tremblest, nestling near me. 'Tis well for thee. 
Well, let's walk a space shying towards thy throne 
and from yon hummock view the scene. Now let's 
see: Thou shalt have freedom, and pleasure I have 
already told thee of. But at thy peril cease to smile 
upon my emissaries! Well hold, here we are. Thy 
throne built by thy direction, thou seest, I moved 
aside for space for me a stamping ground; yet 'tis 
no less resplendent or commanding. Now turn, 
'tis light. * What are those stately buildings 
aligned on either side? What! knowest thou not of 
them? Well truly! And yet thou thoughtest to 
conquer me and rule the realm. Ha ha! — but 
enough of this; time speeds. They are banks, were 
built by yon usurious Jew and proceed upon the 



12 FEAR NOT, BUT 

dictum of his lilyliver. All the industrial lines with 
which the field is interlaced terminate in them, the 
connection everywhere being complex, subtle, close. 
Even the slightest deviation is marked by a sharp 
electric thrill. Enter then wheresoere thou wilt and 
hear clank, clank, clank from the galling chains that 
bend the proud and voiceless energy while polished 
talons tear its flesh and mercy intercedes in vain 
against the beak that preys upon necessity. Now 
note well yon sleepless, toiling multitude: But for 
my provision and that of the usurious Jew it would 
long since have swept the heights and crushed thy 
enervated slaves. Then bear upon it, lash it, 
scourging rebellion through the pass on yonder 
strand. But mark, it hath a symbol or sign w T hich I 
now in secret tell thee of ( ). Then have a care. 
Disport thy pompous slaves, glorying in their cruel- 
ty, but divert their fury from the stalwart, bronzed 
ones lest this sign appear. But should this sign 
appear be thou then assured the deadly siege is on, 
since outraged justice strikes like lightning from a 
mountain cloud, want breeds powers which know no 
weariness, and 'hell hath no fury like a woman 
scorned!' Then send a column of thy brazen ones 
to check the foe, and summon me. Need I tell thee 
more? Thy part then is to play upon the open 
scene while I in secret ply my villiany. 

"Now let's turn again, advancing. See, there's 
not a moment to be lost. I fear a tumult with yon 
Jew and surely all is lost if he succeeds in usurpa- 
tion. When I command him, beckon thou and 
watch him closely, and if he stir even one iota, smile 
on him, and as he moves, more radiant smile, and he 
is mine." 



WORK, WATCH AND WAIT. 13 

The sun in splendor arose, the Jew sank be- 
neath bewitching smiles and sped away in chains, 
when Capital nestled in her chair of state under the 
crown bestowed by overjoyed and fawning slaves. 



Augustus was a well-born youth. His cradle 
softly swung while sweet piety, bending o'er him, 
imbued his spirit with a gentle grace. He grew and, 
looking upon the open scene, essayed to take a step, 
but, falling, felt the sustainingfhand and, turning, met 
the assuring look. 'Twas seven times repeated, 
when calm Faith and radiant Hope in robes of white 
appeared, and smiling, beckoning, ever walked be- 
fore him. 

Oh sunny path of well-reared youth! the flow- 
ers blush and coyly nod, the birds carol, the air is 
laden with entrancing strains, the sweetest odors 
rise from the verdant earth and even the clank of 
commerce rises, mellowed. 

Hope, stretching forth her hand anoints his 
soul; then how easy seems the greatest task. Love 
brings strength, obedience safety, pursuit ecstacy 
while around him twine the sacred ties. But manly 
fullness, buoyant, dashing, brings a yearning void. 
But his limbs are tightly bound when the sustaining 
hand, withdrawing, leaves him lonely of the scene. 

He dwells entranced as a lovely procession 
sweeps before him, soulfully smiling, coyly glancing. 
Then dark forms encroach on either side, softly 
fawning, meanly bending. " Liberty" is sounded in 
a subtle voice. " Stolen sweets" are pressed within 
his grasp, and the air is laden with seductive impor- 
tunities. Those eyes, whose mellowness has pierced 



I 

14 FEAR NOT, BUT 



not the mantle of sweet innocence, close, and the 
rapt vision of his past sweeps before him— the hon - 
ored birth, the tender care, the anxious,' tearful fare- 
you-well. He essays to flee but, failing, sinks upon 
his knees. 1 he weight of melancholy loneliness 
crowds upon his soul, and " My God, hast thou for- 
saken me!" bursts from his unwilling lips. Then 
stirless silence reigns— the breezes lull, the birds 
hush, and even the source of rippling laughter loses 
motion. All is transfixed in stagnant breathlessness. 
Has his wild wail but angered the heavy heavings 
of his breast since even the rocks, though moved, 
return no echo? 

But the zephyrs slowly awake and sigh meets 
sigh. Then deep calls aloud unto deep, when Cu- 
pid, leaping from its hiding place, joyfully brings the 
gem that fills. His eyelids part, and as he stands 
erect in salutary freedom, hell recoils. The two 
forms before him, pausing, seem transfigured in 
their loveliness, and he walks forth to greet them 
in the advancing focus of the rainbow's rays. 

How rich, how proud, how strong; yet how 
poor, how meek, and how sweetly weak is he as he 
walks not alone in the fullness of life. Time, 
abashed, conceals his blade and, passing, gently 
chafes his face, then on his brow describes those 
deepening lines and softly bends his frame while 
weaving silver threads among his locks. All gen- 
tleness nerves heroic strife while rising cherubs turn 
to anticipate each half-formed wish. Oh tender 
youth! sweet meat on which all vice is fed, sweet 
token which we exalt in presence of the Deity, 
obedient and all-trusting it walks all heedless of the 
sting that ravishes then rankles in its bosom. He 






WORK, WATCH AND WAIT. 



15 



sees it rosy bud then blushing bloom. He marks 
its course with starry eyes and stoutly stays the 
gentle hand that drives it on. 

But time, remorseless time, has thrust upon his 
frame three score or so. His eyes have lost their 
forward fixedness while ragged cliffs impede his 
course and lift the yellow rays above his waning 
sight. His palsied hands and weary limbs cast 
gloom upon his burdened soul from which grief's 
suffocating weight pours troubled visions through 
his waking dreams. His offspring all have long 
since fled. One labored in the mart with skillful 
hands, but restraining not strong impulse for his 
fellowmen, was branded, singled out and driven 
forth. In abject wretchedness he died, nor could 
his widow's wail and orphans' tears assuage the 
brutal hand that coldly thrust his form into the earth. 

Another responded lightly to his country's call 
in the hour of her need, and now his broken skele- 
ton bleeches under the elements a thousand miles 
away, while a radiant maiden, poring over his trin- 
kets, sends impassioned prayers to the throne of 
grace. And three lovely daughters grew and all un- 
conscious drew his anxious, tender vision from afar. 
The eldest, calm and stately, beheld a suitor at her 
feet in lavish adoration. In silent war with croaking 
doubt she said her nuptial vows. A season of hap- 
piness, shaded here and there, succeeded, then love, 
where is thy cheery warmth? All is chill, while in 
cold and formal elegance pride declares its fullness. 
Then doubt, sharp-beaked, winged, black and rav- 
enous, swoops down and plows great furrows in her 
tender brow. With upturned face and clasped 
hands she falls upon her knees in silent supplication 



1 6 FEAR NOT, BUT 

when soon the hideous vulture, gorged, slumbers on 
her fleshless bones. 

The next in years, in courtship found no hap- 
piness, but her spirit glowed and no task seemed 
great enough to weigh upon her buoyant soul. 
She wed with every sense offended, and as she 
cast her line far in advance an angel bore it on and 
pinned it to the earth. But in loveless gloom so 
damp and chill her spirit lost its fervid glow, while 
rank, blasphemous vaporing bedripped its canker on 
her stainless soul. Now hell's own hatred rains its 
ragged shafts against her brow till, blinded by the 
crimson stream, she kneels upon the severed chord 
and with one last, heroic strain, reaches for her 
children; but alas! her thin hands find only their 
diverging trails. One wild, melancholy wail rings 
her lamentation. The clouds condense, the gloom 
deepens, the lightnings play and the thunders trem- 
ble earth and heaven. The earth quakes and the 
mountains rock when dispair, that black and herb 
less peak, topples o'er its base and mingles with her 
crushed and lifeless clay. 

The seraphs, weeping, wreathe the loving 
daughter that remains. She sees her father's 
haggard face and hears, or seems to hear, the 
gnawing of the tooth of fire at her heart. She 
seeks to smooth his path and by light and cheerful 
gaiety cloud grief's memory. But there crowds 
her dreams and even revolves before her waking 
eyes the maiden's vision — a stalwart form to lean 
upon, a shining arch above a home, and cherubs 
smiling, beckoning, "come!" A suitor came, light 
of foot and easy mannered and, betrothed, they 
strolled along a flowery glen, then climbed a swift 



WORK, WATCH AND WAIT. 17 

ascending ledge and rested on a grateful rock. Her 
cup of joy seemed filling fast as she placed her 
trusting hand in his and he drew her even closer 
yet, softly twining her flowing hair. But a passing 
breeze, uneasy, swept and the swaying boughs above 
them sighed, when succeeding stillness, stirless, for 
a moment weighed. Then as the mountain, lightly 
quivering, shook, a boulder fell from 'neath their feet 
and, bounding, whirling, pierced the glassy deep. 
A stinging viper rustled in a neighboring bush and 
fixed its fascinating glance. She deeply blushed, 
lonely seeking a higher realm, then paused by a frail 
and flowery barrier. Her fair brow shone with a 
feverish tint, and as she pressed her hands upon her 
eyes the maiden's vision turned and fled. Her 
bosom, trembling, heaving, shook. She sighed 
and, kneeling, silent wept: would heaven cleanse 
her evil eyes and purge her soul of dark distrust? 

Her suitor knelt close by her side and wept be- 
cause of his neglected youth, then hailed the return- 
ing hallow of her love and truth. 

Now they dwell upon a gorgeous scene — a lus- 
cious vale: a silvery rill winding gayly down among 
the rocks where blooming boughs hold pendant 
many a flowery trellise and verdant fields and laden 
trees. But a spotless bird, swift-pinioned, came and 
bathed its plumage in the rippling rill; then brushed 
its snowy wing against her brow, then uttering a 
a piercing scream vanished from her sight. A tiny 
cloud, dilating, grew; the wild wind moaned among 
the crags, and the mountain sharply trembled while 
the sea cast bursting bubbles upon the shore. She 
dwelt in love in trust, why should she break the 
blissful spell? 



T 8 fear not, but 

But the fatal tendrils around her creep, re 
coiling oft, then venturing more. Now all is 
strange, lurid, lowering- vision; a subtle tremor 
shakes her frame, while the rich fields strangely os- 
cillate and the great trees bring their luscious fruits 
and press them on her yearning- lips. The embers 
which her prayers and tears had ofttimes pressed 
and lightly wet, first glow, then sparkle, then fill her 
bosom with their flame. Voiceless, helpless, bound, 
she falls headlong and glides adown a mossy path 
scarce conscious of her flght till deeply buried in the 
sea. But a great wave lightly bears her back to 
shore where she meets her whilom suitor. 

He coldly laughs and runs away, 
While she pursues as best she may. 
She sees his form near fashion's throne 
As the portals close against her own. 

The great clouds hide the setting sun and dark- 
ness broods. Shame burns her tender face and 
turns her eyes to earth as she, pleading, seeks for 
refuge. A sharp shower falls to hush the busy 
world, then all is stillness, dense and deathlike, save 
intermitting roll of distant thunder, the ribald shout 
of reckless hosts, and " Home Sweet Home," which 
falls in melancholy cadences on her anguish-riven 
soul. She turns her face to heaven, whose gather- 
ing elements show no opening rift. Her hands are 
pressed upon her eyes and her bosom swells for 
utterance, when her pentup agony pours forth in 
one all-penetrating moan. The earth trembles, 
shudders, quakes; the wild wind bends great trees 
to earth and smites the troubled sea, and the valley, 
gleaming with the blinding flame, resounds from 
heaven's terrific cannonade while a teeming deluge 
plows great furrows in the mountain side and madly 



WORK] WATCH AND WAIT, jg 

leaps to meet the angry deep. She pours her burn- 
ing tears upon the flood and, turning, leaves all 
happiness behind. 

The passage, fetid, dark and devious, lies 
open now before her, She walks in and down with 
reckless, growing speed and, pausing in the stirless 
blackness, hurls aside her robes in shreds. The 
rocky concave drips its cold sweat upon her up- 
turned face and clasped hands and presses a lasting 
chill upon her heart. . She, groping, finds a round 
and sonorous pit, and rolling a boulder over its well- 
worn brink, listens long to alternate grating less and 
less distinct. Now follows quick her tarnished gem 
and as a faint, pitious cry stirs the stillness she 
whirls giddily around the pit, then, gliding o'er a 
tangent, finds the sunken, blighted vale. The great 
trees droop their stripped and riven limbs as their 
empress walks the shadeless paths and halts on the 
verge of the swollen stream. She, smiling, nods, 
then loudly entertains as hells legion gather at her 
feet. They are outdone. They blush to see her 
shamelessness, and tremble at each blasphemous 
execration; then peal on peal of laughter rises as 
she mitigates her wickedness. They breakfast on 
the fallen fruit, gorging nigh to bursting, nor by 
strong endeavors can she avert their devilish kind- 
ness. But the burning sun reaches the meridian of 
a cloudless sky and its rays pour into the sunken 
vale, still, yet terrible. The stream ceases and 
great fisures in the clay alone remain where once it 
flowed. The trees' crisped and burning branches 
fall piecemeal, while hell's horde vanishes, seeking 
cooler refuge. The ribald empress, undismayed, 



20 FEAR NOT, BUT 

turns her bosom to the fiery glare, defying its 
blighting power. 

But her heart's hard coldness, riven, melts; 
her latent sensibilities awake, and horror hurls her, 
voiceless, to the herbless earth. Swift memory 
speeds the eldorado of her maidenhood and him she 
loved — poignant grief, rends reason's base. Rea- 
son reels, drifts. She madly grasps a burning 
branch and, kneeling where the stalactites gleam 
above her, casts it down the darksome pit, crying: 
"My child! my child! " 

The concave, riven, parts above her, and heaven's 
light illumines all. Commotion trembles a thousand 
fathoms down while a legion of infant forms, one by 
one, arise with outstretched arms, crying to heaven 
but to return. Yet one finds its mother's lips, then, 
sinking, whispers "speed!" Life ebbs. The tender 
vibrant chords are broken all, save one, yet drifting 
reason hovers near its resting place. Pitying mem- 
ory, reaching farther, glides a happy train. Then 
she hears, or seems to hear, a faltering voice from 
destitute and tottering feebleness,. calling, when she 
speeds till near her home and, crying, sinks to rise 
no more. A grateful mantle falls as two loving 
forms bend fondly, soothingly, caressing. The 
fleeting spirit trembles on the quivering lip and all 
is o'er. A tiny cloud, bathed by the setting sun, 
showers great silvery drops while birds in legion 
gathering, freighted, from afar, deeply spread flow- 
ers and cypress leaves over her remains. 

Augustus' cup of bitterness is full, and his feet 
wander aimless in the gloaming. His swelling bo- 
som awakes his waning energy, and he utters trem- 
ulous, yet measured, ominous admonitions: " How 



WORK, WATCH AND WAIT. 2 I 

long will toil, tongueless, joyless, hopeless, bend to 
win a meager moiety or, lacerated, flee before the 
brutal elegance that feeds upon its energy! 

" How long will pompous blindness lead the 
van to where anon the choicest men must, mutilated, 
fall before the iron messenger! 

" How long will unbending arrogance forestall 
the first-born's breath while deep, dark, rankling 
hatred lacerates the dauntless, glowing brow and 
imbues the young, receptive mind! " 

Now as he casts a melancholy look upon the 
flowery mound his voice receives a weird, augment- 
ing force: " How long will want restrain the happy 
spirit's will and, gnashing, gnaw the sacred barriers! 

" How long will the wolfish queen, exultant, 
reign with wounded virtue under ban! 

" How long ere hydra error culminates and 
fleet, grim Consequence recoils the brazen brow 
before a stream of blazing meteors! " 

His lips close, and as chasing echoes thread the 
relentive vale, here and there a pebble, rolling, falls, 
and a faint answering whisper rises on the moveless 
air. His weary feet stumble and his kneeling frame 
totters near his journey's end. The shadows deep- 
en, life ebbs and reaching memory speeds its glid- 
ing picture: His stalwart sons on manhood's brink 
where all is happiness when he waves his last fare- 
well, the lighted vigils o'er his budding daughters' 
trusting innocence, while plays the shining shaft 
which affrights the vulture and the wolf, pinions the 
crouching leopard in his lair and hurls the rustling 
viper from the flowery glen. 

Now his heroic zeal awakes anew and his ten- 
derest thoughts recur. In convulsive, tearful throes 



2 2 .RS^Lff iror, ^kt 

he dwells upon the awful sequel. Will his pent-up 
bosom's burning flood find no cessation? Reason 
reels and he madly gropes where once they stood, 
but cries aloud — he finds not even a broken reed. 
But a weary, worn, pursuing figure softly lifts him, 
whispering consolation. He sees and his soul 
calms. 'Tis she who walked beside him from 
his manhood's brink, the sharer of his happiness and 
grief, the tender mother of his children all — gentle, 
sweet, unchiding Charity. She checks him as he 
chides himself, softly answering a caress, and directs 
his feeble eyes to the lovely waiting forms whose 
pursuit gave youth its luster. Then Faith moves 
mountains, Hope spans chasms and a legion of an- 
gels descend and smooth his pathway to the grave. 
Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is 
thy victory? 



But Capital has already plumed the exultant, 
lurking, brutal slaves whose vanquished legion 
stretches far upon the barren strand. How unac- 
countable to man is man when in the awful throes of 
sore distress: All grimly calm he shrinks before a 
force he might annihilate and, searching, takes his 
place as toil has bent or pain has marked his frame, 
where a thousand standards plainly say: 

" THUS FAR, NO FARTHER; HERE WE PAUSE." 

But the last hurrying fugitive pauses in the pass 
and with exalted finger traces hieroglyphics on the 
wall while the rural people crowd the pass and shy 
their caster in the ring. The caster stands stalwart, 
statuelike, majestic. Courage and fortitude have 
chiseled his cheeks and no pulsation moves the 



WORK, WATCH AND WAIT. 23 

fixed sinews of his pliant frame. Not a sound 
escapes his sealed lips, yet the hardening lines of 
his sunburned face and the fixed gaze of his deepset 
eyes tell of the heroic purpose of his troubled soul. 
His face turns to the heaven of heavens, a prayer 
plays upon his lips, the sinews of his heavy arms 
contract and his. iron hands are clenched. His place 
is a pregnant period and he the crushing freight of 
thundering memory. 

And now the heavy, turbid column is deeply 
stirred as each nearer to his neighbor is impelled 
from the force of crowding millions in the rear. It 
spreads along the wall just below the pass, yet can 
life endure in the ever tightening density? Yet the 
sturdy yeoman stirs not. Is there in his sullen pa- 
tience virtue still? Two columns of Capital's exult- 
ant slaves, mutually hating, lurking, laugh to see his 
attitude. They approach on either hand and, while 
mocking at "hayseed", hawk at and tear him when 
he springs forward like a thunderbolt, dealing on 
the foremost brow of each a heavy blow. The col- 
umns stagger and, reeling, recoil, mingling as one. 

Now the neighing of a steed in anguish rings 
in every ear, and tender, jaded, bleeding Charity 
steps swiftly down a deserted vale, searching. She 
comes upon a beaten path and pursues it listening, 
watching. A little spring o'erflows from a rock her 
hand might touch, each hanging branch has lost its 
foliage and the grass and fern are tightly nipped in 
every ledge. Still on she presses till at length, un- 
awares, she comes upon her own foot-prints, dis- 
figured here and there by a hoof of steel. Now she 
waits for a time, when a tall, dark horse, saddled, 
bridled and caparisoned, approaches her without 



2 4 FEAR NOT, BUT 

fear. His wry neck and open jaws give token of 
long-endured pain. A rein tightly tied about the 
pommel is loosed by Charity, who also plucks two 
broken spurs from his festering sides. He neighs 
scarce audibly in sweet relief and softly chafes her 
cheek in token of gratitude. Charity returns to the 
ring, the steed, by his own sweet will, pursuing, and 
fondly there caresses him while the people marvel 
at his faultless symetry. Now she calls a bronzed 
and brave, yet wary, standard bearer, and admon- 
ishes him: " Fear not ! but work, watch and wait. 
Groom and feed this noble steed in mercy. When 
inky darkness wraps the earth and laden sky, watch 
but chase no coying phantom. When a red glare, 
flashing upon the clouds, shrinks, shaping the christ- 
ian symbol, bestride thy steed and, with hand ex- 
alted, wait; and when soon two seraphs, robed in 
white, advance tandem through yon pass, one hold- 
ing a pillar of flame and the other a vessel of oil, 
rain the gleaming missiles in thy grasp against the 
brazen brow of arrogance, nor cease till the height 
is scaled. Farewell. " 

The rich luster of the setting sun vanishes, the 
star of empire, bursting, falls rayless, and the moon 
is not. Capital glowers under the shades of dark 
revenge. Her thin lip curls and in shrill tones she 
marshalls many emissaries. Now the earth trem- 
bles from the low rumbling of distant thunder as 
pedants crowd the ring and, disporting, spit upon 
the "ignorant". " Knights", self-plumed, parading, 
exalt cold glittering steel and apostrophize: " Plow 
ye deep the vitals of all 'foreigners' who worship 
not our queen! " 

A heavy cloud rises slowly above the horizon, 



WORK, WATCH AND WAIT. 25 

the rolling thunder grows more grimly ominous, and 
darkness, gathering, deepens. " Divines'' in legion 
lift aloft a time-worn book whose letters shine with 
phosphorescent light and all read: 

" For what is a man profited if he gain the 
whole world and loose his own soul ? 

"Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither 
have entered into the heart of man the things which 
God hath prepared for them that love him. 

" Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, 
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but 
he that doeth the will of my Father which is in 
heaven. 

" Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, 
Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name and in 
Thy name cast out devils, and in Thy name done 
many wonderful works? And then I will profess 
unto them: I never knew you, depart from me ye 
that work iniquity. 

" Repent and be baptised every one of you in 
the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, 
and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

" Except ye eat of the flesh of the Son of Man 
and drink his blood ye have no life in you. 

" Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my 
blood hath eternal life and I will raise him up at the 
last day. 

" For my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is 
drink indeed. 

" He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my 
blood dwelleth in me and I in him. 

"It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh prof- 
iteth nothing. 

" And I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and 



26 FEAR NOT, BUT 



upon this rock I will build my church and the gates 
of hell shall not prevail against it. 

"And I will give unto thee the keys of the 
kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind 
on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever 
thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 

"And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the 
end of the world/' 

The book falls unheeded of its dumb, dispers- 
ing champions. 

Now a light, far-reaching whirlwind draws 
countless flaming sheets above the ring whilst all 
emissaries ransack the realm of books and, hurrying, 
return laden. There is a throng of busy hands and 
each book becomes a leaflet, under swift manipula- 
tion. A great book-cover is pinned to the end of a 
mighty shaft, the leaflets placed therein and the staff 
erected, the book opening high above. A fragment 
falls from the vortex still above, igniting the initial 
page, and as the leaves turn swiftly one by one, the 
leaf next unturned receives the quick condensing, 
truthful gist of all consumed till but one remains. 

All read; "When stillness has succeeded to 
tumult and Cesarism, reclining, dallies on its prerog- 
ative — when usury and vice reap richly and honest 
toil has become mendicant — when gold has become 
the desideratum and quivering susceptability is 
rifled at every pass, 'tis then thy brother's blood 
crieth unto me from the ground', and 'revolutions 
sweep o'er earth like troubled visions o'er the breast 
of dreaming sorrow.' 

" But one Builder builded not better than he 
knew. Unshaken by the madmen of the middle 
ages or the tempests of nineteen centuries, ' My 



WORK, WATCH AND WAIT. 2 y 

Church* still stands on the rock, Peter, holding 
forth the bread of life. Under a dazzling tiarra in 
stainless robes she preserves untarnished the sacred 
keys, and clutches as tightly her deposite of faith as 
she did on the day of pentecost, and in calm, sweet 
piety, radiant and eternal hope looks lovingly down 
on a rising world, with uplifted finger pointing to 
the heaven of heavens, 

" Ye drifting, halt! ye indifferent, arouse! and 
ye stung, gird up your loins while yet ye may, and 
all in penance pour your tearful adoration on her 
sandalled feet and thenceforth obey her 'still small 
voice/ " 

The cover folds on the lower edge, and when 
an eagle has for a moment soared above it, then, 
lightened, sped away, folds closing every crevise. 

The flaming missives cease to rise, the wind 
abates, the blazing vortex lowers, growing less, and 
for a moment burns about the folded cover, then all 
is darkness, silence, while the light swirling ashes 
fall on the upturned faces of crowded emissaries. 
Now a terrific stream of flame pours down from the 
pregnant cover, then quick reverses when the shaft 
rises high, then sinks into the flowing Tiber, while 
a stream of flame for a moment marks its curved 
course. The heavens, o'ercast, contract a more 
dreary aspect. Inky blackness wraps the realm 
when the commissioned horseman steps into the 
deserted ring, alert and watchful, while the dark 
steed, unbid, pursues. 

Faith, Hope and Charity are far away. The 
storm broods, threatens, while fools laugh at its 
playing tongues of flame. The droppings of its 
sharp precursor have already arisen from the burn- 



28 FEAR NOT, BUT 

ing sands. The air is heavy with sighs of unre- 
quited love, and anon the deep stillness is broken 
by ominous mutterings of sullen discontent. Wolves 
prowl and vampires flit about seeking whom they 
may devour. Owls croak from ruined shelves while 
the air surges under the raven's wings. Now there 
rings in soft, sweet, yet clear, all penetrating tones 
from afar down the strand: 

" Our Father, who art in heaven ! hallowed be 
thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on 
earth as it is done in heaven. Give us this day our 
daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we for- 
give them who trespass against us. And lead us not 
into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen. 

' 'Hail Mary, full of grace! the Lord is with 
thee; blessed are thou amongst women, and blessed 
is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, moth- 
er of God! pray for us sinners now, and at the hour 
of our death. Amen. 

"I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Cre- 
ator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, his 
only Son, our Lord who was conceived by the Holy 
Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under 
Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; he de- 
scended into hell, the third day he rose again from 
the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at 
the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, from 
thence he shall come to judge the living and the 
dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Cath- 
olic Church; the communion of Saints; the forgive- 
ness of sins; the resurrection of the body, and life 
everlasting. Amen!' 

Now, Hope lights a silvery torch which Faith 
exalts, when the responding heavy column seems a 



WORK, WATCH AND WAIT. 2 g 

freckled sea of fame deeply moving-, surging, rolling, 
heaving, while Hope, supplicating, suffers in the 
suffocating density. 

" All Men are Created Equal" is borne 
along on a burning wave when the moving flame 
quickly settles, segregating along the center, a sec- 
tion intersecting just below the pass on either hand. 

Now as Faith advances, Hope pursuing, the 
illumined column parts and all torches rising liberat- 
ed as she passes cluster around her own. The 
intersection passed, all heroes, hurrying, fall in as 
the main column lengthens, narrows, stiffens. The 
advancing graces approach the ring with measured 
step, smiling on their armed, mounted, grim and 
ready champion, when in a twinkling a brazen crew 
turns stampeded. But Vice and Capital have al- 
ready met on the stamping ground and held a hur- 
ried colloquy: 

Vice — " Hey there! seest thou yon symbol? 
and hast thou dispatched thy brazen ones as I di- 
rected thee?" 

Capital — " Yon symbol, even the blind may 
see! and I was hurrying to summon thee. Aye, I 
have done as thou directed, but obedience is no 
more!" 

Vice — " Wench! dangle thy silly tropes before 
thy strutting pedants; dally not with me. And hast 
thou no messengers? Why desertest thou thy chair 
of state in an hour like this?" 

Capital — " Pardon me, but I am aging fast and 
my slaves no longer heed me, save as it pleases 
them. Hence I came to summon thee. But now I 
may return?" 

Vice — " Resume thy throne, summon all thy 



30 FEAR NOT, BUT 

slaves to worship at thy feet, save those already or- 
dered to the front, and thenceforth command only 
as I direct thee in cipher. Speed thee! (solilo- 
quising): Aye, I see it there, erect as I saw it on 
Golgotha. And the deadly strife is on! In my trep- 
idation, how I dread it! Yet, turmoil brings such 
occasions for my low-browed, lurking, dark assas- 
sins, aye for all my villians, that even still I court it, 
(he lifts a finger and his legion gathers at his feet), 
Are ye all here?" 

" Aye, even to Brute Force; we know no will 
but thine" arose in a multiplicity of sounding tones. 

Then Vice, commanding: "Lynx Eye, with 
thy brigade pursue yon brazen crew that loosely 
shies, wrangling, towards the front Pin all lag- 
gards to the earth and hurry into the ring them 
that remain. Then dispose thy forces. Let a part 
retrace their steps a space and circumscribe a new 
ring, cunningly arranging pitfalls and things deflect- 
ing light and shade, if light there be, so all advan- 
tage may be seized upon and the deadly thrust de- 
coyed. Then dispose another force to scan the re- 
cruiting stream, thrusting through all who tremble 
or dissent. Of course Til see that Capital keeps the 
fighting force replenished. Watch closely the bout, 
then from anticipating, swift retreat, turn and check 
the flying battlers. Let all who sought not vantage 
fair or foul or who tremble even now be knifed in 
secret conclave. Then recruit, readjust and early 
drive them into the new ring and withdraw all thy 
brigade before the gauntlet falls. And so on, pro- 
ceed step by step until further orders. Speed! 

" Now, all ye fleet and limber horde, arm your- 
selves with scorpion's tails and pervade the realm, 



WORK, WATCH AND WAIT, 3I 

hotly lashing all hesitating, dallying slaves. Speed! 

" Brute Force, because of thy swift, obedient 
power I give to thee dominion. Over my avenues 
and dark dens thou art king and thine these remain- 
ing slaves. Then return and purge thy realm of all 
dissent and with all ferocity harass the advancing 
column thou soon shalt see. And for the culminat- 
ing, fiercer effort I will reward thee even more: 
When from this stamping ground the terrific tide is 
turned, yon queen, bedecked with all earth's choic- 
est gems, shall be thy bride. Speed all! (Solilo- 
quising): He turns, looking, would he speak? Yet 
in silence he obeys, hence I am safe. 

" One more stroke, but one, then my ambition's 
goal in all its richness! Ha, ha! even now it looms 
up in luscious vision!" 

" Exalt the Child" rings along the column on 
the strand as all heroes bend, grimly silent, hand in 
hand, bosom to back, while the column moves up, 
condensing, then stands stirless. Now a heavy door 
opens, shrieking, from the wall, and a maiden, press- 
ing a child to her bosom, is rudely thrust into the 
night. As she falls down, down to meet the ragged 
rocks a wild, melancholy wail penetrates the mighty 
deep. Her dying pulses heave the strand, the tide, 
rippling, flows and great jaws crowd along the reced- 
ing shore as all heroes bend in one mighty throe and 
the column pours sternly through the pass. 

The gallant rider charges intermittingly, anon 
beyond the realm of light, while the unreigned steed 
obeys the cherrup and the whispered wish nor stum- 
bles o'er the work of devilish ingenuity, then walks 
by Faith while Hope, caressing, twines her fingers 
in the flowing mane. Wolves, gathering, grow 



32 



FEAR NOT, BUT 



more and more audacious, the beasts and baying 
hounds are loosed and anon the air rings with 
shrieks from falling hangers-on. 

But at length the column lags, moving wearily, 
when the valliant rider makes another even more 
terrible charge, then halts in darkness near the 
stamping ground. 

Vice, hurrying, summons all his slaves, coral- 
ling the vanquished battlers, and harrangues them* 
in exultant tones: " Ye faithful, one more stroke, 
but one, and the earth is mine. Then shall thy 
poinards plough the vitals of all yon horde, save 
only those who, shrinking, minister to thy loath- 
some appetites, and they shall beneath thee writhe 
eternally in augmenting agony. But time! Marked 
fiends, to the front! Project your cold steel and 
unveil all shamelessness. Now fall in, all ye motley 
horde, in order. Ye limber imps, ope yon corrall. 
1 Divines' !' speed ye here; stand in order bracing 
this phalanx, and exalting your gowns to shield me 
from yon approaching, blinding light. Now fall in, 
all ye that remain, save ye that ply the whips, and 
stand all hand in hand, bosom to back. Brute 
Force, my chosen one, my most obedient slave, im- 
bue this gang with thy crushing energy and brace 
it for eternal victory." 

Faith stands waiting, Hope beckoning, when 
from adown the vale "Eminent Domain" rushes 
forward on a growing, sonorous wave, and each 
hero girds his waning strength. The earth trem- 
bles from terrifying thunder while the lightning plow 
the lower avenues. But the two graces have ad- 
vanced and Faith stands by the gallant rider, with 
upturned face, whispering words of Hope, while the 



WORK, WATCH AND WAIT. 33 

flame above her, growing, glows, casting a beam far 
in advance. The aligned heroes near, as Capital 
steps down from amidst her decorations, advancing 
with outstretched arm and labored smiles, exalting 
the flowing bowl. The tall steed stands tremulously 
alert, his moist and shining sides laced with great 
bold veins, his thin ears erect and nostrils wide, as 
his agitated lenses play under their swelling corners. 
The column softly crowds Hope, condensing, while 
the rider dwells upon the dim, rapt mystery beyond. 
Now a new and mighty power crowds resistless on 
the column's rear, and an onward wave rushes to- 
ward the front, when the riders brain staggers and 
he lunges heavily forward — the bowl shatters among 
the steel hoofs as the steed passes like a flying ar- 
row through the nerveless horde, then turns to 
return, but falls heavily and dies while the three 
graces, exalted, sweep past him amid such a thun- 
der and flame as shook and rent the earth never be- 
fore. Now a great wind, swnrling, rakes the valley 
with blasted glaziers deeply spread, and a hot, 
teeming deluge sweeps through the pass the relics 
of all wickedness. 

* * * * 

The storm is past and the countless stars, ecstatic, 
twinkle o'er the the sleeping, trusting victors. 
There is no fostered vice; even mania, with one 
wild shriek, has gone, before, Nectar sweet soothes 
each weary limb while love's pure flame, softly ris- 
ing, defecates the dusky vision. Sleep on, the all- 
seeing Virgin stands in loving vigil and the founda- 
tion of a mighty empire has been painfully laid, 



34 FEAR NOT, BUT 

whose frame will rise as rises "the lark to greet the 
purpling east." 



*Note— " The retentive vale" is elliptical, its longest diam- 
eter being a line of latitude, and the "ring" or arena for public 
disputation and contest is located on the lowest extremity of it, 
bordering on "the pass". The pass is narrow and short, its high 
perpendicular walls turning abrubtly at the farther extremity, 
extending along the shore, while "the barren strand" has rounding 
surface and is A-shaped, horizontally, extending into "the migh- 
ty deep". Now Vice and Capital are viewing the scene from a 
hummock, but let the reader stand upon the "stamping ground", 
which is even higher yet. Looking directly westward his line of 
vision lies along the vale's diameter, through the lofty and else- 
where impenetrable single mountain range, and over the apex of 
the strand just below the horizon. The vale has the ordinary con- 
formation of land, including an inland lake or sea, even to moun- 
tains of less magnitude than those of the great range, and in con- 
tour slopes from the reader's feet to the ring, from whence the 
smooth surface in the pass slopes swiftly to the base of the strand. 
Moreover, the vale is circumscribed by the ridges, "which, one 
from either hand, slow descend." Those ridges rise abruptly from 
the vale, their elevation growing more and more distinct beyond 
the widening interval till they, curving, merge with the great 
range and, terminating, form the walls of the pass. It is along 
the inner, lower edge of each of those ridges that the dens of vice 
are entrenched, fronting towards the vale. Then along the inner 
edge of each ot his broad avenues the "banks" are aligned, also 
fronting toward the vale. And a "dark passage" lies along just 
behind each row of vice's dens, terminating with a "heavy door" 
above the strand. 



LIBBARYOF. 



CONGRESS 



0027 273 621 2 



